First United Methodist Preschool

First United Methodist Preschool includes classroom activities, unstructured outdoor play time, and fun community building events throughout the year. The program offers both childcare and preschool, with children grouped into classrooms by age from 2 to 5 years old, including a nursery for 2-year-olds, a toddler classroom for 2.5-year-olds, younger and older 3-year-old classrooms, and two 4-year-old classrooms, with numbers that may vary depending on enrollment and attendance.

• Ages: 2–5 years old
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, 7:00 am–5:00 pm, with full-day and half-day options and 5-day, 3-day (Mon/Wed/Fri), and 2-day (Tues/Thurs) schedules

First United Methodist Preschool is a small, local preschool program that has been a staple in the Chula Vista community for over 50 years and was started in 1969 as a mission of First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista. It is a ministry of First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista and is supported by and connected to the ministries of the church as extensions of the ministries of the FUMCCV congregation. The program offers both childcare and preschool and accepts CDA, MCCYN, and YMCA subsidized programs. It maintains a 6-to-1 or 8-to-1 ratio of adults to students and never goes above a 12-to-1 ratio, and it is a nut-free facility that cannot serve children with special needs at this time due to lack of certifications and staffing and facility capabilities. The program recommends that families bring a water bottle, an extra set of clothes, and a blanket for nap time for full-time students, with items kept in the child’s cubby, and parents may need to supply diapers and wipes if their child is not potty trained.

All First United Methodist Preschool teachers are first aid and CPR certified for children and adults. The program’s mission is to provide a safe, nurturing, and engaging early learning environment that effectively supports the diverse needs of children and families in the community, and to provide opportunities for social-emotional interactions to foster cognitive growth and physical development. The program offers an education based on a Christian foundation and Methodist roots woven into its curriculum and philosophy, with education based in Christian values of love, support, and encouragement. It infuses Christian values such as love, trust, respect, responsibility, self-control, honesty, compassion, patience, thankfulness, humility, perseverance, and faith in God into everyday learning, and treats each child as a miraculous gift from God. The program aims for children to be ready for kindergarten when they graduate, allows children to influence their own learning by sharing their interests and actively exploring their environment, and uses personalized and responsive curricula that meet each child’s individual needs.

First United Methodist Preschool describes itself as a loving and enriching environment that feels like a second home, where staff build strong relationships with each enrolled family and provide regular and consistent communication. Healthy meals are prepared fresh on site every day. The campus is described as safe and secure, with 100% supervision at all times, two gates at the entrance to the preschool campus, all external doors locked during the school day, and electronic doors equipped with programmed key fobs to enter. The facilities are described as state-of-the-art and designed with littles in mind, with classrooms located on the church campus. The program holds License # 376600117.

Parent testimonials describe teachers and administrative staff as kind, loving, sweet, caring, helpful, and welcoming, and refer to the preschool as a hidden gem and a home away from home. Parents mention feeling grateful for their children growing, learning, and feeling loved at the preschool, and some note choosing to keep their child at First United Methodist Preschool for an additional year even when the child met the age cutoff for another program.

Last updated June 27, 2026.